Book-app publisher Touch Press is back with an innovative atlas app for children, based on the Barefoot Books World Atlas. A spinning 3D global can be zoomed in on to check out animations, photos and historical objects, with text and narration from BBC presenter Nick Crane. It's optimised for the new iPad's Retina display too.iPad

Namco's Sky Gamblers dogfighting game was one of three app demos at Apple's launch for the new iPad, so it's hotly anticipated. Its spiffing 3D visuals show off that device's Retina display, but it runs on older iOS devices too. Expect 40 jets to fly, and a combination of solo and online multiplayer modes.iPhone / iPad

Zynga has ported its Boggle-like social game Scramble With Friends from iPhone to Android, opening up even more potential for competitive wordplay between friends. It involves finding words in a 4x4 letter grid in two-minute rounds, with players taking their turns at their leisure.Android

Now an EA studio, Aussie developer Firemint has launched an interstellar sequel to its hugely popular Flight Control game. It sees you guiding 15 different spacecraft into base safely, with robots chipping in to boost your score. It's fully Retina-friendly for the new iPad too.iPhone / iPad

This is a real work of craft: a "sing-along app" for iOS that teaches three songs to children using beautiful visuals, before letting them create their own tunes by tapping on objects in a fox's treehouse. It's the work of German developer Shape Minds and Moving Images.iPhone / iPad

Live music website Qello has launched its first iOS app, which offers a large archive of gig videos from the likes of Jay-Z, Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, U2, Mumford & Sons and other artists. It's free to download but costs £2.99 a month via an iTunes subscription.iPhone / iPad

There's a definite increase in the number of rich apps for kids launching on Android, after a long time where iOS was the platform of choice for children's apps. Dora the Explorer stars in this educational app from MTV Networks.Android

Japanese social mobile gaming company Gree is setting its sights on western markets, with Zombie Jombie its first game on that score. It's a card game that sees you battling zombies, while using in-app purchases to boost your prospects.iPhone

Retro emulator apps can be a controversial area, but Microsoft is happy enough to let Purple Cherry loose in its Windows Phone Marketplace. It's an emulator of the Gameboy pocket handheld, albeit without sound for now.Windows Phone

Another meaty iOS game comes to Android – Google's relaxed limits on file-size may well be the spur. This is Gameloft's take on the free-roaming Wild West genre (i.e. Red Dead Redemption), with plenty of cowboys, bandits and horses to play with. So to speak.Android

What, more Mass Effect 3? This is a journalistic endeavour: a 15,000 word longform article by Geoff Keighley on the development of the console game, including video interviews, concept art and early footage. Keighley previously did this for Portal 2.iPad

Perhaps the most appealing ABC app yet for tech-savvy parents, this teaches kids the alphabet in a different way: "Imagine the joy of hearing your two year old chatting away about his holographic ninja or time traveling joystick..."iPhone / iPad

Here's a good alternative to letting your child loose on your iOS music library: an app that gets you to map their four favourite songs to giant colourful buttons, so they can play the Rastamouse theme to their heart's content.iPhone / iPad